The Germans, the Forced Laborers, and the War

In Germany during World War II, forced laborers were exploited on nearly every building site and farm, in every industrial enterprise, and even in private households. Over 20 million men, women, and children were taken to Germany and the occupied territories from all over Europe as “foreign workers,” prisoners of war, and concentration camp inmates to perform forced labor.

The exhibition “Forced Labor. The Germans, the Forced Laborers, and the War” provides the first comprehensive presentation of the history of forced labor and its ramifications after 1945. The historical exhibits and photographs explore the relationship – defined by racism – between Germans and forced laborers, offering insight into its many varying manifestations. They also show how forced labor was part of the Nazi regime’s racist social order from the outset: The well-propagated concept of the included – the “Volksgemeinschaft” or people’s community – functioned in tandem with the forced labor of the excluded.